Aam zindagi...
Met Mr Ford or Queen Elizabeth? Well, what better place to get acquainted with them than the Mango Mela
It's the season of the King, and it is available in very possible size, shape and flavour. If anyone knows how to re-incarnate the king of fruits, it's got to be the Indians.

Face in the crowd: All hail the King; Fruits of labour: A rangoli takes shape

Taste of MQ!
Now, with sweet mangoes came sweet fun as well. Desi or firangi, mangoes stole the show, bowling over the young and old. But here's the twist, we checked out if the mango lovers are high only on taste or mango quotient (MQ) as well. Ask the visitors to the mela if they know the nomenclature as clearly as the flavour and a few surprises were thrown up. Langda, Dusehri and Alpohnso were the clear winners.


Big of small things: The biggest and smallest mangoes in the fest.

Mystic mood
What do a master of quwwali and king of fruits have in common? Well, the mango mela, where the former will provide the finale
Arzo-smaa (earth and sky) kahan, ke teri wusat (Omnipresence) ko paa sakein, ikk mera hi dil hai voh, jahan tu sama suke," says sufiana qawwali maestro, Ustad Haji Aslam Sabri, while delineating the mystical significance of love between the Seeker and the Preceptor. "The spiritual sufiana qawwali, as a pure art form, is both objective and subjective as also universal and individual," adds the Ustad, who will provide the finale to the mango mela at Pinjore on Sunday evening.

Bioscope in the time of multiplex
No amount of advanced Google search could satisfactorily explain the terms toodi and jhalar. Clueless? Cut. First, the backgrounders. Of course, there were mangoes, mélange of mangoes and lots of mangoes at Mango Mela-2009 at Yadvindra Gardens, Pinjore. But what gave the touch and true connotation to the word mela as we know it, went way beyond King of Fruits. If you know what we mean?

Multiplex culture

Brew beckons
Café Coffee Day, has now launched the ‘Sundae Dessert Festival’ that is all set to enhance the in-café experience.  Specialist in creating combinations that are augmented by coffee, the ‘Sundae Dessert Festival’ offers an appealing combination of unique ice-cream blends with desserts and cookies.

Of reel & reality
Ather Habib and Pooja Joshi of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai were in the city to shop for a wedding in the serial 
We have Balika Vadhu highlighting the evils of child marriage, Na aana is des laado raising the concern for female foeticide, Bidaai depicting the society's 'complexion' discrimination, Mitwa showcasing caste barriers and ample other shows making an attempt to diminish the difference between the real and reel. While we thought, Telle ville is all about mirroring the harsh realities these days, the team of Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata hai, a show on Star Plus presents a rather pleasant picture. Saturday saw Ather Habib aka Shaurya, and Pooja Joshi aka Varsha, bhaiya and bhabhi of Akshara, the bride in the soap, shopping in the city for her, thus bringing reel life closer to reality.

Matka chowk
Airport, then and now
The first time I landed at the Chandigarh airport some twelve years ago, my two year old daughter while hugging her teddy crinkled her nose and asked -"Mom, is this a real airport? Where are the planes?" The Grand Post office like look of the Chandigarh airport was compensated by the grim security that abounded in those days. Over the years, I have grown used to the airport and the anxious look of the folks who depart from the airport for the first time. This year I dropped an American friend who asked me more than twice - " Are you sure this is the right airport?"

Here comes the star
Stallone debuts in Bollywood with Kambakkht Ishq
Hollywood icon Slyvester Stallone makes his Bollywood debut in Sajid Nadiadwala's Kambakkht Ishq. Fans of the Rocky and Rambo star can see their hero beating up bad men to save a damsel in distress in typical Bollywood style and even say two Hindi words, title of the film Kambakkht Ishq.

A still from the movie Kambakkht Ishq

King na kaho
His recent roles might be 'king-sized' but Akshay Kumar prefers to be called Bollywood's clown rather than its king. "I hate being called the king of Bollywood I will better be called a clown. My main concern is to entertain people," said Akshay Kumar, at the promotion of Kambakkht Ishq. The actor may be hailed as one of Bollywood's best action heroes with his death-defying stunts but Akshay said he too struggles to overcome his fears before performing a daring scene. — PTI


Akshay performs a stunt at the promotion of movie KI

Picks & piques
Yo! New York
New York, the first big Bollywood film to hit America after the industry strike, has won good reviews from US media with the New York Times praising its portrayal of problems faced by a Muslim minority. "Indian films often deal with the problems faced by a Muslim minority. Transposed to the American context, those problems continue to resonate," writes the influential daily about the film that opened across US last week.

Not my type!
Bollywood diva Kareena Kapoor says she is not someone with the "hate-men" attitude as her role in Kambakkht Ishq portrays and the only common link between the reel and real characters is the name Bebo.

Tarot TALK